Top 10 car songs of the fabulous ’60s

Thursday

May 4, 2017 at 6:11 PMMay 4, 2017 at 9:23 PM

Grey Zyla/More Content Now

1. “Don’t Worry Baby,” The Beach Boys, 1964

What? Is this a car song? Yes it is. If you listen closely, you’ll find out the reason for all the “worry” is the guy in the song was “bragging up his car” once too often. His rival challenges him to a drag race, and now he’s got to back up his words. His girl tells him that when “he races today … don’t worry, baby, everything will turn out all right.” It’s about love and a drag race, and perhaps the best melody of the top-10 bunch originally released on the “Shut Down” album.

2. “Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” Jan and Dean, 1964

There wasn’t really a little old lady from Pasadena, but this song about granny and her bright red Super Stock Dodge is a close second on my favorites list. Released on the “Drag City” album, it offers a great beat and lasting rhythm. Go granny, go granny, go granny go!

3. “Shut Down,” The Beach Boys, 1963

“It happened on the strip where the road is wide” preludes a great contest between a factory Super Stock 413 Dodge Ramcharger and a fuel-injected Corvette, released on The Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA” album. The ’Vette finally overtakes the Dodge at the finish, but in real life, I’d have put my money on the 413 Dodge. This is a great song for those who love drag races and the muscle car high-performance street scene.

4. “Little Deuce Coupe,” The Beach Boys, 1963

This is the hit single and similarly titled album that put The Beach Boys on top with car lovers. The Deuce Coupe “purred like a kitten until her lake pipes roared ... and got rubber in all four gears.” So popular was the song it reached No. 4 on the Top 100 hit list.

5. “Fun, Fun, Fun,” The Beach Boys, 1964

“She got her daddy’s car and she cruised to the hamburger stand now.” Seems “the library” was just a front to get the keys, and this little miss had a great time with daddy’s T-Bird until dad got wise. Enter the song’s hero, who gets the “carless” girl and they continue having fun cruising around in his ride. “Fun, Fun, Fun” was released on the “Shut Down, Volume 2” album.

6. “Dead Man’s Curve,” Jan and Dean, 1963

Another hit from this talented duo, things went bad when the Jaguar XKE hit the curb entering dead man’s curve in a race against a Corvette. As the lingo went, “you won’t come back from Dead Man’s Curve.” Notable is that there are three versions of this song, with some minor lyric changes as the single 45 hit version was released in 1964 with help from The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and sounds of horns and the XKE crashing.

7. “G.T.O.,” Ronny and the Daytonas, 1964

Ronny & The Daytonas, another “surf sound” group, hit the big time with their debut single “G.T.O.” With “three deuces and a four-speed, and a 389,” the “little G.T.O.” really “whined.” This song hit No. 4 on the Billboard list and was the biggest hit the group ever had.

8. “Hey Little Cobra,” The Rip Chords, 1963

Ford fans had much to cheer about when the Rip Chords released this hit that also went to No. 4 on the Billboard Top 100 list. The lyrics “Hey little Cobra don’t you know you’re gonna shut ‘em down” chronicles a successful day at the races for a Ford Cobra, which is towed into the raceway pit area “hitched to the back of my Cadillac.” The Cobra defeats a Corvette on way to victory, which was also happening in real life.

9. “409,” The Beach Boys, 1962

When released, Beach Boys song writer extraordinaire Brian Wilson was disappointed that “She’s real fine my 409” didn’t do better on the hit lists. However, The Beach Boys ended up with double-sided success when flip side “Surfin’ Safari” took off and eventually made the Top 10 chart. As for “409,” it was an influential car song and surely pushed sales of all those 409s that dotted our boulevards in 1962 and 1963.

10. “Tell Laura I Love Her,” Ray Peterson, 1960

Sad song about a young man who needs money to help him get married to Laura. He sees a sign for a stock car race, enters his car and is fatally injured. His last words? “Tell Laura I Love Her.” I agree it’s a corny song, but it sure receives lots of airtime.

Honorable mention goes to Dick Dale, the West Coast guitar king who started the whole surf sound with his group The Deltones in the 1950s. Two Dale albums, “Checkered Flag” (1963) and “Mr. Eliminator” (1964), are noteworthy.

-- Greg Zyla is an auto columnist for More Content Now and GateHouse Media publications. He welcomes reader comments and would like to hear from you about a hit or two that you feel should have make his list at greg@gregzyla.com or 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, PA 18840.